In light of the fact that I do not have any Chrysanthemums to take pictures of these in, Sydney and I traipsed around our hood looking for photo ops. First, we found a stump.



Then, a “ladder” that I would not trust with my weight, but that seemed plenty strong enough to hold a pair of socks.


…and then we found the barrel cacti. I’m not much for prickly pears, but we have a few barrel cacti that have charmed me. I’m always pleased when there’s a new one in the bunch.


These socks require concentration. I wouldn’t recommend knitting them while operating heavy machinery, but they are totally worth it. This is another lovely pattern from Hunter Hammersen and I’m very pleased with it in spite of the pain that I went through with the picot edging. In the end, I figured it out and now I feel like a bona fide knitting genius (I just learned that bona fide is two words, so clearly, not a real genius, but a knitting genius nonetheless).
Mine raveled here

Ps. These were the socks I wanted to finish for Socktoberfest. I was only a bit late.
Pps. Check out what others have finished at Tami’s Amis and Wisdom begins in Wonder and Natural Suburbia

I had almost finished the blue cowl and was working on the final border. I glanced at the pattern and worked 4 rows just like the first border and then read the directions for binding off. “Bind off loosely purlwise on the wrong side.” I sent Alicia a quick email about how I would need to bind off on the right side after completing the border.

She graciously responded that I should bind off on the wrong side so the number of rows would be the same before the first shell and after the last one. She was kind enough to write that it wasn’t that big a deal if I’d bound off on the right side. She was even more kind not mention that it sounded as if I had no idea what I was doing and was actually not qualified to be test knitting at all and maybe even should have my needles confiscated.

I looked at the knitting and looked at the pattern. um. HOW does one bind off on the wrong side after the border? I don’t get it. I’m not proud to say that I sent her a second email asking how I should bind off on the wrong side after the border. I know how knitting works and after a wrong side row, you have to do a right side row when knitting flat. It’s like gravity. That’s how it works.
That’s how it works if there are supposed to be four rows in the final border.


But.

If the pattern actually says that there are only THREE rows in the ending border, well, then, my knitterly friends, then, I think we all know, you can in fact bind off purlwise on the wrong side just as the lovely Alicia suggested from the beginning.
Yes, I bound off on the wrong side and sent her an apologetic email to tell her what an arse I am.

Ps. I’ll post a link as soon as she has this pattern out. This is a fun quick perfect for gifts knit and I want to share the love.
Pps. Check out what others have finished at Tami’s Amis and Wisdom begins in Wonder

So, I read this blog called Woolen Diversions. Alicia designed a fabulous cowl and asked for testers. I loved the look of this Estonian shell business, so I contacted her for the pattern.

I knit a lot of socks, so the amount of “super chunky” yarn I have in my stash is….almost zero. I had no choice whatsoever but to do a drive by at the Local Yarn Store. I’m not going to lie. I ALMOST bought some orange sock yarn just because I never find orange sock yarn I like in person and the dyer was there at the time and….I was NOT there for sock yarn. Super chunky yarn and size 8 double-pointed needles for a baby hat and that’s it. I know, you’re shocked.

I looked at yarn that seemed super chunky to me and ended up with some lovely Malabrigo. I did give in and buy a matching button that was 50% off. I’m not made of steel. When I got home I realized the yarn was actually called Chunky, so it could not be “super chunky”. One would think I’d have noticed that before I purchased it. I did not. It looked super chunky to this sock knitter and it was blue.


Luckily, it seems to be working out just fine.

Ps. To see what other folks are working on, check out Tami’s Amis.